Silver Bullet
by brattyteenagewerewolf
Summary: Gilbert was alright with being alone until he realised what he'd been missing the entire time. Something he hadn't known he'd wanted or had lost. hair of the dog side story, prucan and minor usuk


**A/N: I've owed this one for a while. A prucan oneshot for the wolf verse with bonus history of Alfred and Matthew!**

_A blind bird sings inside the cage that is my heart  
And the image of your face comes to me when I'm alone in the dark  
If I could give a shape to this ache that I have for you  
If I could find the voice that says the words that capture you  
I think I know, I think I know  
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon.  
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon._

_Dela- Johnny Clegg_

If you asked him or anyone who knew him they would say that he was happy alone. He'd never let out any sign of it being otherwise after all. Centuries and decades had passed without him ever claiming to want what the others had and why should he? Ja, Ludwig did look completely content around Feliciano but did he really want to have to constantly protect a mate (cute as he was) who couldn't defend himself? Had his mate proved to be female did he want to have to deal with the pain and heartbreak of never being able to have a child like Roderich had done over the years? Elizaveta may have been strong but even so she struggled with the idea.

No, he was happy like this. Or if not happy then at ease. Nothing changed and he never had to deal with the emotions and thoughts of another.

Then came Matthew.

Matthew was an enigma to him. He was quiet and polite, easily missed when compared to Alfred. He was laid back and rational, organised. He was everything Gilbert wasn't.

Or so he'd thought...

.o.)O(.o.

Gilbert yelped, pulling his hand back with a look of indignant surprise as he examined the shallow puncture wounds gracing his skin. A few beads of blood rose slowly from the four marks, too small to be of concern. "Birdie! What the hell?"

Matthew shrugged, stabbing a piece of pancake with the fork he'd attacked his mate with as though it hadn't happened. "You had your own breakfast." He pointed out, gesturing to the plate in front of the albino that was practically spotless bar the odd smear of syrup.

"Dude, you really should have learnt by now that Mattie doesn't share his pancakes with just anyone!" Alfred laughed, ignoring the glare that the Canadian sent his way as the Prussian objected loudly to the statement. Arthur merely rolled his eyes at the banter, too used to it to care. This was practically a morning ritual for the times that Gilbert and Matthew spent in America.

Course it was better than how they'd been at first. The first time the pair had spent half a year with Alfred and Arthur (and occasionally Carlos who was still off god knows where for god knows how long until he'd show up at Alfred's door with a scowl and beer/cigars/ice cream depending on his mood and who answered the door) there'd been fist fights, food fights, put that god damn knife down fights courtesy of Alfred and Gilbert. The one was 'protecting his brother's virtue' and the other was 'protecting his right to said brother's virtue'.

Arthur had eventually had enough and took to eating in his room while Matthew either sighed and ignored the pair or lost his temper (which was a sight to behold). The Canadian was definitely not as mild mannered as Gilbert had originally thought him to be. He'd assumed he'd be a less cheery/cowardly version of Feliciano until he'd seen him watching hockey for the first time. The blond had actually terrified him at that point and he no longer doubted that he was more than capable of looking after himself. He may have been quiet but he had a fiercer side under all the pleases, sorrys and ehs.

That fiercer side had come to the fore when he'd finally had enough of the constant fighting and shoved both Alfred and Gilbert into a room and locked the door. It could have ended in disaster but lo and behold when the door was unlocked four hours later it wasn't to a literal dog fight but to the two 'enemies' sitting on the couch and shooting each other on Call of Duty. It appeared that their mutual love of video games had allowed them to get past their issues and so long as Alfred was allowed to shoot the crap out of Gilbert on the Xbox he gave their relationship his blessing.

Matthew really didn't understand the American sometimes...

.o.)O(.o.

Their morning ritual of arguing and trying to steal one another's breakfast wasn't the only ritual they had. They had many of them, little habits that had started cropping up as they'd grown used to one another's presence.

For instance, no-one disputed the fact that Friday was game and fast food night. Alfred had declared that years ago and every Friday was the same. The American would go out and grab as much McDonalds as he could afford/sensibly eat, Matthew would complain about the food as Arthur and Gilbert broke out the beer, if Carlos was there cigars would be passed around and Gilbert ensured that there was a constant stream of multiplayer games available. Arthur would usually only play one or two rounds before deciding to watch but they never failed to enjoy it.

As enjoyable as that was though it was nowhere near as enjoyable as his favourite ritual, even if his favourite ritual was bittersweet.

Matthew yipped softly, his eyes on Gilbert's white form as he purposely shifted his tail and moved lithely away from him as the albino growled in frustration. _Birdie, stop being such a tease! _He complained, bounding after him as the Canadian laughed and bolted.

_Stop being so easy to wind up eh? _He teased, easily outpacing the slightly larger Prussian. He was fast, able to move through the woods like a ghost when he put his mind to it whereas Gilbert was built for fighting.

Alfred was also like that, strong, bulky. Despite the fact that Matthew was an inch or so taller than him his wolf form was larger than the Canadian's, around the same size and build as Gilbert's which he used to his advantage. _There are other people here you know! Stop flaunting the fact that you're screwing my brother! _He growled, his tone not completely furious despite the circumstances as he bowled into the albino who yelped as they both went flying.

_Do you two have to act like complete idiots or is it programmed? _Arthur asked sarcastically, shaking his head as he stood beside a massive, dark furred wolf. Matthew was also there, a wolfish grin on his lips as he wagged his tail.

_Can't speak for Gil but Alfred's always been an idiot. _Carlos noted, chuckling when the Canadian pushed him with his nose. The American obviously heard the comment because next thing the Cuban knew he was being tackled to the ground by both him and Gilbert. What happened next was inevitable as Matthew and Arthur were dragged into the tussle, the five of them laughing as they fought playfully (Carlos biting Alfred and occasionally Matthew by accident a bit harder than necessary).

They always ran together when Gilbert and Matthew were due to leave for any amount of time. Running would turn to playing before long, the group acting like puppies as Arthur protested but wasn't allowed to withdraw. But as fun as the playing was it wasn't what Gilbert loved, no, he loved the aftermath. He loved the way they'd collapse afterwards, falling into a heap of warm fur and nuzzling one another fondly. It reminded him of when Ludwig had been younger, before he'd been turned and was still a kid who enjoyed being hugged close.

It reminded him of family.

.o.)O(.o.

"And you better not have sex in my bed again Al... That was disgusting!" Matthew warned, cringing at the memory. "It's one thing to do it and hide the evidence but to actually forget to clean the bed afterwards? I don't appreciate coming home to two month old sex stains from the pair of you!"

Alfred chuckled sheepishly, Arthur looking horrified by being called out on. To be fair he'd assumed it had been cleaned since the American had said he'd take care of it but it was still embarrassing. He didn't want to admit the fact that it hadn't been one occasion either, Matthew's (and Gilbert's by default) room was closer to the front door than Alfred's (and his though he was loathed to admit it) one so they did often stumble in there when it was unoccupied. Once they'd done so when it was occupied (in a similar manner) much to both parties' horror a day or so after Matthew and the Prussian had returned from Germany.

The constant trips backwards and forwards were tiresome for both parties but it was the only way to make sure that Gilbert got to see his brother. They didn't have it as easy as Feliciano and Lovino who could see each other every other weekend should they choose, they had an entire ocean between them. At first the pair had spent half the year in Eastern Europe and the other half in America but that had quickly dwindled down to a few months in Europe when Gilbert had realised that his brother would be fine without him and that he no longer had the same pack connection that he'd had for centuries. The Prussian was finally beginning to settle down into one of the weirdest packs he'd ever seen.

Enough so that leaving like he was doing now felt weird, painful even.

.o.)O(.o.

"So run this by me again... Who's the alpha?"

Gilbert could have laughed at the perplexed look on his brother's face but he chose not to. He'd also been confused at first having been so used to a defined pack structure. "Generally Alfred is but Arthur sometimes takes the role as well. Yao and Ivan do the same thing you know." He pointed out, glancing over to where Matthew was talking with Francis. Ludwig's place was packed at the moment seeing as Antonio's entire pack had dropped by.

"Ja I know but they have an obvious beta and omega. Who are yours?" The German explained with a frown. Gilbert sipped his beer, looking thoughtful.

"I suppose Arthur is typically the beta but sometimes Matthew or even I take the role. Carlos isn't normally around so he doesn't do so."

"So Carlos is the omega?"

"Say that to his face sometime bruder, I dare you."

Ludwig groaned softly, shaking his head. "It doesn't make any sense..."

"Nein it doesn't. But I suppose it isn't really a pack, Alfred's been so sheltered all his life that he hasn't needed a pack-like structure."

"Then what is it?"

"A family," Gilbert smiled. "A dysfunctional family but a family none the less." He chuckled softly, draining his beer in a single gulp and setting the empty bottle aside. "You should come to America sometime and see for yourself." He offered, he knew that Ludwig didn't like the idea of travelling so far from home but he also knew that he cared about him.

"Ja I should."

.o.)O(.o.

"I heard you earlier, when you were talking about us." Matthew said quietly, his head on the Prussian's chest though he did tilt it to look at him. A soft smile was playing on his lips though there was something in his eyes that Gilbert didn't recognise.

"Hmm?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"When you said we were a family and also how sheltered we were. Did you mean that?"

"Of course Birdie, why wouldn't I?" The albino questioned, pressing a kiss to the blond's forehead. He could vaguely hear a bird singing nearby, his thoughts immediately going to his own canary back in America as he wondered whether or not Alfred was looking after him alright. He supposed that if the American did forget Arthur would do so, he was responsible like that. "We are a family, just as much as Ludwig's my brother. I'm the awesome one, you're my adorable partner with a brother I love to hate, Arthur's the grumpy father figure and Carlos is the creepy uncle who always smells suspiciously of illegal substances." He grinned, making Matthew roll his eyes.

"And do you really believe we've been sheltered?" He pressed, sitting up as he ignored the comments to stare at Gilbert with lavender eyes.

The Prussian frowned, shrugging. "Well ja, you've never had packs to contend with or fight with over territory. Alfred's had a pretty easy time as alpha."

"It wasn't always like that. He wasn't always alpha either." Matthew sighed. "Both Al and I are young compared to the woman who turned us; she was the one who was alpha when other packs roamed the Americas. We've known the same conflicts as you have even if we don't show it."

Gilbert watched him silently, eyes wide at the admittance. "Where are the other packs then? Where's the one who turned you?"

"Gone. You've heard the story about what happened to the South American pack? Well the same happened north. Al and I were hunting together at the time so we never knew the full story but when we returned she was dead. The hellhound had torn her and the others to shreds. We only learnt later about the exact nature of what had killed her but I think Alfred still blames himself for not being there. It's why he wants to protect me so badly. He doesn't want to lose me as well."

Gilbert frowned, he could sense that Matthew had all but moved on completely but regardless the loss must have been immense. He was suddenly seeing the Canadian and also the American in a new light. "He doesn't need to worry about losing you Mattie. I'll protect you as well. All of you." He murmured, hugging the other man. "I meant what I said earlier. We're a family of sorts, we look after each other."


End file.
